


Capsize

by lesbijane



Category: Lumberjanes
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Slice of Life, Vibe check! [tips the canoe over]
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-30 03:04:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20807489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbijane/pseuds/lesbijane
Summary: April isn't thrilled to earn yet another canoeing badge. Jo decides to rock the boat.





	Capsize

**Author's Note:**

> First fic! I'm trying to get more comfortable with sharing my work with others. I hope you enjoy!

“Uggghhhhhh.” April unenthusiastically paddled along the lazy river, “This is SO boring. I need to _ move _.”

“Technically, we are moving.” Jo liked sitting at the back of the canoe. Steering was a trickier job, but she preferred not having her arms hurt from needing to row. April liked rowing strong, so they made a pretty good team. “Really slow, but we’re moving. I thought you liked canoeing?”

“Well, yeah, the _ first _ time,” April grumbled, “Then the second time was okay. And maybe the third time's a little boring, but I can handle it. How many canoeing badges _ ARE _ there?”

“Six,” Jo answered, automatically, “If you count _ Paddle to the Metal _ and _ Make a Splash _. Which I do.”

“Six!” April threw an arm up into the air, “That’s like, five too many!”

“Hmm. I mean, I do agree that four is a bit too much.” Jo looked back at the river, “Maybe a river monster will show up? Would that help?”

“Nope.” April had almost given up paddling now, resting her paddle in the boat, “We already had a river monster, remember? It’d be weird if that happened twice. Things never happen twice to us.”

“No, things have happened twice.” Jo started paddling a little more forcefully to make up for April’s disinterest, “Like when… Hm.”

“_ See? _” There was a distinct I-told-you-so tone to April’s voice. “We’ve never met more three-eyed animals. We haven’t seen another group of yetis. Do we even know any werewolves besides S.K.?”

“That has to be a coincidence, though.” Jo gave up on rowing. Trying to row from the back was hard enough as-is, let alone making up for April’s level of strength. “Wouldn’t it be weirder if something did happen twice?”

“Well, all I can say is we aren’t going to get a sea monster. And since Mal isn’t here, we probably won’t meet Scylla, there won’t be a disastrous waterfall we’ll fall down, _ or _ magical whirlpools at all.”

“We already had magic whirlpools, actually. Remember? With Seafarin’ Karen.”

“See? We’ve already done all the cool stuff!” April’s bad mood was now so defined that Jo could practically feel the same emotions as she was, “Nothing more for us but redoing the _ Watching Paint Dry _ badge, I guess!”

Jo felt uncomfortable while they kept floating in silence. If anything, she should have been the one complaining, April usually loved the challenge of earning a new badge. Maybe the problem was that this badge just wasn’t new _ enough _. April only liked things if they were new, novel, and easy to fixate on. In that order.

_ If I were April, and I, Jo, who April is in this situation, was really frustrated about badge-earning, what would April, who is me, do? _Jo wondered.

Jo took a deep breath, put her paddle down in the canoe, and very slowly stood up.

April turned around, quickly aware of the imbalance of the boat, “What are you…?”

“I,” Jo paused for dramatic effect, and using all the balance she had, set a foot on the edge of the canoe. “Am going to tip this over.”

“Wait, you can’t do that.” April gripped the edges of the canoe, trying her best to undo the shakiness Jo was causing, “This is the _ Don’t Rock the Boat _ badge. The whole point is to _ not _ do that. It’s literally the easiest badge to get!”

“Yup,” Jo was practically shaking, just like the boat, “And I’m going to tip it over? Because if we aren’t having fun with this, we shouldn’t do it? You seem really stressed out and this would give us a good excuse to head back and find something else that we both actually like. I don’t know.”

“It’s not that big a deal!” April shook her head, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so… You know. This badge is stupid, but it’s still on the list for your bronze axe. I want to help. You don’t have to commit mutiny for my sake.”

Jo felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. She chuckled, “Mutiny?” She shifted her weight, ready to sit back down, “Who said you’re captai-“

Just as she tried to get back into the canoe, it had jostled in a way that sent her completely off balance, falling right into the river.

Thanks to her lifejacket, Jo had already floated right back up to the surface, a little startled, but safe.

“Jo!” April peered over the side of the canoe, which she just barely was able to keep herself in, “Quick, get back here, maybe nobody will see!”

Jo swam over, and reached a hand out to April, “Here, lift me back up!”

April reached out, grabbed Jo easily, and started mentally calculating how to pull her back into the boat without tipping over herself.

In this split second, Jo had the spark of an idea.

With an unexpected tug at just the right moment, Jo pulled April right into the river with her.

After the initial shock of falling in with Jo, April laughed, “What is _ with _ you today? So much betrayal!”

Jo shrugged, grabbing onto the side of the canoe, which had now completely flipped over. “I got you to laugh?”

“Ugh,” April playfully splashed a bit of water at Jo, “You’re the _ worst _.”

Jo rolled her eyes. After resting for a second, she noticed something off in the horizon. “Hey, is that another canoe?”

April tried getting back up onto their own canoe to get a better look, “Huh, I think it is. Who else is dumb enough to try earning this badge?”

“Wait,” Jo turned her attention back to April, “Are you calling _ me _ dumb, or are you calling us both dumb.”

“I’m calling us both dumb.” April said, matter-of-fact, “You aren’t allowed to be dumb without me.”

“Good. Likewise.” Jo stared back into the distance, “Yeah, I think that’s… Is that Diane?”

The canoe was getting close fast, mainly thanks to Diane’s impatient paddling. Barney sat in the back, and they gave Jo and April a wave, “Hey! Why are you two in the water?”

“Yeah,” Diane smirked, “I thought the entire point of this badge was to make it to the finish line _ without _ tipping over.”

“I-“ Jo started,

“We capsized!” April interrupted. “We rocked the boat a bit too much.”

Diane did her usual half-laugh, the one that she did at the Roanokes when she thought they were particularly foolish. “Well, that’s dumb.”

Jo smiled, “We know.”

“Do you need any help?” Barney asked, “We could probably paddle you back to shore.”

Jo glanced at April, wondering what she’d answer with, only to see a similar spark of an idea in her eyes. April gave Jo a quick glance, and Jo did her best not to snicker.

“Actually, yes.” April let go of their canoe and paddled over, “A ride back would be great.” She reached a hand out to Barney, “Here, lift me back up.”


End file.
